Bound
by WhiteIce
Summary: Steve thought the bond he formed with Claudia through the metronome would bring them nothing but trouble. Of course, he didn't plan on getting kidnapped by a group of psychopaths that had an obsession with living forever. They think they can use the once dead Steve as the key to eternal life. Now, Claudia's bond with Steve might be the only thing that could save him...but kill her.
1. Chapter 1

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

Steve moaned and buried his face in his pillow, putting another one over his head for good measure. But no matter what he did, the ticking of the metronome still rang in his ears.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

Steve finally gave up, getting up from the couch and stumbling into the kitchen for a snack. He had been working all night to figure out everything he could about the metronome: researching for hours in the Warehouse library, achieves and database. And he had found nothing.

Granted, it was only one night of research, but already Steve was beginning to panic. He had to figure out a way to sever the bond between himself and Claudia before anything bad happened to her. Already he was worried - probably out of his mind with worry - considering he was hearing the metronome, as if it were right next to him, when it was safe with the Regents at...wherever the Regents kept their artifacts.

Steve looked at the sandwich he had made, his appetite disappearing. He pushed it away. Worry was taking over him - he was going to get as stressed as Artie always was. Steve took a few deep breaths - he needed to meditate. It would calm him down enough to shove a snack down his throat and take a 10 minute nap before he went back to the Warehouse.

He was lucky that Leena's B&B was empty: Leena was shopping, and Myka and Artie had left for a mission, as well as Claudia and Pete. Steve couldn't help but feel slightly jealous at the fact that Claudia was on another mission with Pete. Granted, he had asked to be left at the B&B, but he still couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy. He had thought that Claudia would have been paired up with Artie, for old time's sake. But Artie kept sticking Pete and Claudia together. It frustrated Steve. Claudia was his partner, not Pete's.

Steve shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He sat down on the couch and crossed his legs, taking deep breaths. It took longer than normal, but eventually Steve's mind went completely blank. For the first time in days, Steve felt peace. No worry, no anxiety, just calm, wonderful -

_Wham._

He was ripped out of his thoughts when the front door slammed open. Steve gave a huff of anger, but kept his eyes closed. He'd wait until Claudia or Pete or Artie to come in and start jabbering away until he gave up completely on his mediation.

After a few seconds, Steve didn't hear anything but footsteps. He relaxed slightly. Either Leena or Myka was home, and they'd give him some space. Even Claudia (when she wasn't around Pete or Artie) wasn't half bad about being quiet when he was meditating.

Steve had just begun to hope that nobody was going to disturb him when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He sighed and opened his eyes, turning around. Pete was playing a practical joke, or Artie was furious because he had misplaced an artifact during inventory.

Except that the face that was looking down at Steve wasn't Pete or Artie or anyone he knew. But it wasn't the unknown face that made Steve start to panic - it was what he saw in the face.

There was a fanatic quality, an insanity that was shining in the eyes of the man who had clamped his hand down on Steve's shoulder. He looked like a man whose entire dreams had come true - in the sickest, most disturbing way.

"I have been waiting a long time for you." The man said, staring into Steve's eyes.

_Not a lie. _

It was the only thing that popped into Steve's head as he twisted his arm to get out of the man's grip. He finally got free and stumbled backwards into the coffee table. He slammed his legs against it, wincing when he felt the pain.

_Claudia's feeling that too. What if her legs gave out when she was chasing a suspect, or if a suspect's chasing her? What did you do to her? _

The panic that had been building in Steve for the past days suddenly exploded and Steve ran from the living room.

_Have to get upstairs. Gun. Tesla. Get them. _

He flew up the stairs, tripping over them and catching himself on the edges of the steps. He finally made it upstairs and ran down the hallway, nearly past his room. He stopped himself and flung open his door.

_Gun. Tesla. _

Only to see five people in his room, sitting at his bed, his desk, as if everything were perfectly normal.

Steve looked to the stairs, but the fanatic man was coming up them, along with many others. Steve stumbled backwards and into a door. He felt the door handle jab into the small of his back. He blindly reached for it and opened it, falling into the room. He slammed the door shut and put his weight behind it. He could feel people banging on the door, the door handle twisting. He struggled to keep everyone out.

He looked at where he was. Claudia's room. He hadn't been in there since she had brought him back to life.

The shock made him go limp, and the door flew open. Before Steve could even register anything, an arm wound it's way around his neck, holding him in a headlock. His wrists were thrust behind his back and cuffed - he could feel the cool metal biting into his skin. A rag was shoved into his mouth, muffling his yells of shock.

_Somebody help me. Please, anyone. _

"What do we do with him now?"

"Put him in the trunk. No chloroform, not yet. We don't know how he reacts to it."

_PLEASE!_

At his inward scream, something seemed to snap in Steve's mind. It felt like it was being ripped apart, and Steve felt something give way. His mind couldn't deal with the pain anymore, and darkness took over.


	2. Chapter 2

_kleenemaus8459_ - In this chapter, we'll see how Claudia handles Steve's pain, including his being unconscious. I'm glad you like the fic so much!

_Chinagirl18_ - Thank you! I hope you like this chapter!

_Guest_ - I'm glad you like the story!

_atn_ - Thank you! Hope you continue to like this story!

_tmmdeathwishraven_ - Thank you! I'm glad you like the story! And of course you can add it to your community!

_mlw217_ - Here is another chapter! Hope you enjoy it!

_Hero Memory_ - I'm glad you think it's so creepy, because that's exactly what I was going for. The people that kidnapped Steve...are not in their right minds, to say it mildly. And yes, Steve's going to be concerned for Claudia's safety, due to the fact that they're linked. It's going to be a huge issue for him in this story.

**Thanks for the reviews everybody! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Warehouse 13, and this disclaimer goes for the entire story.**

* * *

"So...one point for me for getting the pig trough." Pete said, waving the list of artifacts through the air. "And that makes me...10 points ahead." He danced around Claudia, who was trying very hard to resist the urge to trip him.

"Hey, there are still two more artifacts out there." Claudia smirked at him, picking up the neutralizer bucket and carrying it back to the car. "And more missions."

"Artifact Hunter" as Claudia and Pete put it, was their game to play whenever they were on missions. The game had started on their first mission with the marbles, and would end...whenever Jinksy decided he wanted to go on missions again.

Claudia knew she shouldn't hold it against Steve for wanting to stay at the Warehouse and recoup after his return from the dead. And for the most part, she really didn't. But there was still a small part of her that wondered how many missions Jinks would skip. Would Claudia be playing Artifact Hunter a few months from now?

She briskly shook her head, trying to stop her thoughts. This wasn't the time to feel sorry for herself, not when Steve was going through much worse. She knew it wasn't a cake walk to rise from the dead and stay risen. Jinksy was going through some hard times, and he needed her. To listen, to understand. Not to whine about how missions were less fun without him. (And not just because she was losing at Artifact Hunter).

"Yoo hoo. Earth to Claudia." Pete waved his hand in front of her face, still laughing about his win. "Are we getting a bit of loser's angst over here? Ready to admit defeat?"

"You wish." Claudia snorted and dropped the neutralizer in the trunk. "Where to next?"

"Looks like...Utah." Pete's brow furrowed. "To get a bathtub?"

"Oh, that'll be fun." Claudia slammed the trunk shut and walked around to the front of the car.

"Technically, we didn't have to find the tub - the owners are holding it for us. Artie said they're muttering about it being possessed. Do I get a point for reading the artifact off the lis - Claudia?"

Claudia stood up, spitting out the gravel that she had gotten in her mouth when she had face planted into the ground.

"Claud?" Pete raced around to her side of the car and hauled her up. "Are you okay? Do you think it was an artifact?"

"Nah." Claudia shook her head. "My knees just went wobbly for a minute there. Probably just been sitting in the car for too long."

"Well, get ready to sit for another eight hours." Reassured that the danger had passed, Pete left her side to start up the car. As they drove, Pete began to talk about haunted tubs and how the heck they were going to get it back to the Warehouse. Claudia listened at first, but stopped when she felt a biting pain in her back. She resisted the urge to wince, knowing it would only worry Pete.

She turned her face to the window, and let out a small sigh as the pain in her back passed. Only to be replaced by a stinging on her wrists. It felt like her bracelets had suddenly grown two sizes too small. She ripped them off, but the stinging still didn't go away.

"Claud? What are the directions to the airport again?"

But Claudia didn't hear Pete, because her head had suddenly exploded into agonizing pain. She threw it forward into her hands, but that didn't give her any relief. It felt like her brain was being smashed apart with a sledgehammer. Every skill, every memory, every thought in her head was being ripped apart with her brain.

_**Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop...**_

"Claudia!" Pete stopped the car and ran over to her side. He pulled her out of the car, but it was too late. With one last agonizing burst of pain, Claudia's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she went still.

* * *

"I'm telling you, keep looking!" Claudia woke up to the sounds of Artie yelling much too close to her ears.

"Artie, we've searched everything. Her suitcase, her backpack, her clothes..." Well, Pete was there too. Good to see Artie hadn't completely killed his ass for letting her pass out on the road. There wasn't anything Pete could have done, but try telling that to protective papa bear Artie.

Wait, they were searching her clothes?

"There's no sign of a black diamond anywhere!" And there was Myka.

"No...I know they're behind this." Claudia felt Artie's hand close around one of her limp ones. "They're trying to punish me." The sentence came out in a sob.

"Who's trying to punish you?" Myka asked gently.

"I...You...Nobody." Artie said. "Go look in her room."

"Artie!"

"I said go look!"

There was footsteps, mutterings, the sound of Artie's office door opening and closing, and then there was silence. Artie stayed with her for an hour, holding her hand. He didn't say anything during that time except "I'm sorry" over and over. Finally, he left her side to go work. Claudia heard papers shuffling, Artie muttering, and the keyboard clicking. It was oddly comforting.

For a short while, Claudia lay there, hearing nothing but the keyboard.

"What's going on?"

"Steve!" Claudia didn't open her eyes, but she smiled at hearing her friend's voice.

"Claud? They got you too?"

Claudia realized that Steve must have been attacked by whoever had wounded her. How badly was he hurt? She felt a rush of fear go through her until she realized that he wouldn't be at her bedside if he was in a lot of pain.

"Yeah, they got me."

"No." She could hear the panic in Steve's voice. "It's going to be okay Claud. I won't let them hurt you."

"That's kind of too late, isn't it?" Claudia gave a weak laugh. "My head fells like it was busted open with a crowbar. And my wrists are killing me."

There was a long pause, and when Steve spoke again, his voice sounded guiltier than Claudia had ever heard it. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault -"

"Yes it is -"

"I was with Pete! If the agent that gets vibes couldn't see that this was about to happen, then you really can't blame yourself."

"Sure." Steve muttered, sounding completely unconvinced.

"Steve..." Claudia sighed and opened her eyes, only to see nothing. "Steve?"

"What?" Artie looked up from his work to rush over to her side. "Are you hurt? Who attacked you? What's the last thing you remember?"

"Artie!" Claudia rose up from the cot that she was lying on. "I'm fine. Nobody attacked me. All that happened was that I started to feel weird in the car with Pete and got the headache from hell. Then I woke up back here." She looked around. "Where's Steve?"

Artie sat down, rubbing his eyes and looking very tired. "Steve's missing."

Claudia felt her stomach lurch; she suddenly felt like she was going to vomit. "What?"

"We came back to the B&B and couldn't find him. We used the Durational Spectrometer," Artie sighed, "he was dragged out of here by a group of people. We're currently trying to find out, who they are and why they wanted him."

* * *

Steve looked around, curious as to why Claudia wasn't speaking to him anymore. Stupid blindfold. Steve gave an angry tug to the handcuffs that were preventing him from ripping off the blindfold and finding Claudia.

He had gotten her captured. She was imprisoned by a group of psychopaths, thanks to him. All he had ever wanted to do was protect her, and all he had ever done was the complete opposite.

Steve heard footsteps, slow and steady, coming towards him. A few seconds later, his blindfold was untied and he could see. He whipped his head left and right, trying to figure out his surroundings.

He was in what looked like a warehouse: there were boxes and packing equipment everywhere, with gray light flooding through the grimy windows. Poles were scattered throughout the warehouse, two of which he was standing between. His right hand was cuffed to one, and his left hand was cuffed to another. Steve looked around, expecting to see his partner cuffed to a similar set of poles. But he couldn't see Claudia anywhere. Which meant that she had been taken away to...to who knew what. Torture, death...

"Hello Steve." Steve turned his head, coming face to face with one of his captors. The man - the one with the fanatic eyes - smiled calmly at him.

"Where is she?" Steve asked, furious. He tugged against the handcuffs, scrapping his wrists red. "Where is Claudia?"

"Who?"

"I know you have her." Steve said in a low voice, trying to sound as threatening as he possibly could while captive. He threw himself against the handcuffs once more, this time scrapping his wrists so badly they bled. Another injury Claudia would have to suffer. He stopped for a second, feeling defeated. Everything he was doing was hurting Claudia. "I know you're keeping her somewhere. Just tell me where she is."

The man stared at him for a second before turning around and walking away. He began to speak to a woman next to him, who was scribbling on a clipboard. "Subject is delusional and possibly paranoid. Might be a psychological side effect of being resurrected."

Steve stopped fighting the handcuffs for a second, feeling horror sweep through his veins. "What?"

"Excellent hearing, though." The man continued, still walking away.

_What's going on? How do they know I was dead? _

Steve tried to fight back the fear to think about the most important question that was eating away at him.

_Where's Claudia?_


	3. Chapter 3

**tmmdeathwishraven **_- It's okay, I love it when people freak out over my stories! I'm glad you like it so much!_

**1Shadow-kun**_ - I've already written a few more chapters, so hopefully updates will be coming more frequently._

**Hero Memory **_- Thank you! And yes, Jinks is kind of losing his mind worrying about Claudia. _

**Chinagirl18**_ - I can't reveal all just yet, but this chapter will let you know what's going on. _

**Mari**_ - Thank you! I hope you like this chapter! _

_Swamp Fairy - Thank you! And, even in a fic about Steve and Claudia, I try to give her little moments with Artie. I love the father and daughter vibe between Artie and Claudia. I'm glad you think everyone was in character, because that's one of my main goals when writing a fanfic. And about H.G. - in this fic, she's still off wherever the Regents have taken her. _

**mondler1998**_ - To give off a vibe of creepiness was my goal with this fic. And I'm glad you think it's so awesome! _

**Katriana Freelander**_ - I hope you like this update! And more updates will be coming soon! _

**KeepFaith-SmellApples**_ - Here's the next chap.! I hope you like it!_

* * *

They starved him for three days.

They called it a "fast", said they were trying to keep all the unhealthy foods out of his body, but Steve knew what they were really doing. If he couldn't eat, then he couldn't escape. He tried to keep his strength up, but by the end of the three days he was so hungry he was kneeling between the two poles he was cuffed to, no longer having the strength to stand.

"Are we ready to cooperate?" Steve looked up to see the man with the fanatic eyes looming over him, holding a cup of water. He wanted that water so, so badly. Throughout the past couple of days, they had only given him sips, small ones, just enough to keep him alive. The one whole cup of water looked like heaven to him.

"Yes. Yes, I'll cooperate." Steve croaked through dry lips. It was a lie, of course it was. _I just needed to lie to get the water. _Steve thought desperately.

"Here." The man held the cup to Steve's lips and he drank it all. It was so good... Steve was instantly thirsty for more. He tried to find the last few drops after all the rest had gone, desperate for more water. The man with the fanatic eyes pulled the cup back and turned to two men behind him. "He's ready."

The men uncuffed Steve and dragged him between them to a small cell. They threw him inside, where he collapsed. But this cell, with only a small cot and a toilet, looked like paradise to him. At that statement, his heart stopped in his chest. Steve knew he was being brainwashed. He forced himself to think of Leena's B&B, with its soft beds, warm food and clean water. And he forced himself to think of all the people that occupied Leena's. Pete. Myka. Artie. Leena.

Claudia.

Steve missed her so much. He hadn't figured out what had happened to her, and he couldn't get the thought of her broken and hurt out of his head. She was being held in this place, being starved just like he was. Or worse.

They would torture her for any info they could get - he didn't doubt this now. If they were willing to starve him to the point of collapsing, then they would do the same to her. And what could he do to protect her? He could barely even summon the energy to crawl across the cell floor to the cot.

He closed his eyes, pretending that he could get a message out to her, wherever she was.

_I'm coming for you. I don't care what they do to me, I'll make sure you get out of here. I promise._

_**Steve?**_

Steve's eyes flew open. No. This was a hallucination. A lack of water and food fooling his brain, making him think -

_**I'm hallucinating. Have to be. It was the head injury. Steve's not talking to me. **_

_Claud?_

This was insane. He was talking to a delusion.

_**Steve?**_

He had to stop this. He shouldn't be speaking to a delusion - that was one step too close to insanity.

_**I am not a delusion! If anyone's the delusion, you are!**_

_Okay, tell me something about you that I would believe, but don't know._

_**I bribed that salesgirl to ask you if you watched "Revenge", because I really wanted you to watch it**_**.**

_...Claudia?!_

_**Yo.**_

Steve leaned against the cell wall, trying to come to terms with what was going on. He was speaking to Claudia...possibly. While he was becoming more and more convinced that he was talking to his best friend, he knew he still couldn't rule out the idea of her being a delusion. Although...

Maybe this was one of the metronome's downsides. It would make sense that the metronome would bond their minds together.

_**This isn't much of a downside, Jinksy.**_

Jinks jumped. Apparently Claudia could hear his thoughts...all of them. He was going to have to be careful what he said - no, thought - around her.

_**Pish-posh Jinksy. Like I can't be trusted to keep your secrets...well, secret.**_

_Sorry, Claud._

Steve took a deep breath. Well, whether he really was talking to Claudia or a delusion of Claudia, he might as well get the most out of it that he could.

_Where are you? I talked to you a few days ago, and then you were taken away by those psychos. _

_**Wait - who? I've been only in the Warehouse for the past couples days, although I guess Artie could count as a psycho now. He's really freaked out about everything.**_

_You're in the Warehouse?_

Steve wasn't sure what to think. He had heard Claudia's voice as clear as day. Then it hit him.

_When we talked a few days ago...we were using our minds, weren't we?_

He really was speaking to Claudia, and not some delusion. It made sense that he could have made up a delusion of Claudia after being isolated for three days, but that didn't excuse the first day of capture. He hadn't been in a bad enough condition to dream up an imaginary Claudia on the first day.

_**I think so. I'd love to believe that you're just hidden somewhere in the Warehouse, but I'm pretty sure that's not happening. **_

_No. Some people came into the B&B and dragged me out. _

_**We know. Pete and Myka used the Durational Spectrometer. I'm trying to run the faces from it through the Warehouse database, but I can't find anything. Wait - you can tell me everything!**_

At this, Steve suddenly felt a jolt of excitement. But it didn't feel right: when the emotion rushed through his veins, it felt artificial in his body. Steve suddenly realized that he was feeling Claudia's emotions.

_Sorry Claud. I have no clue where I am. I don't even know the names of my abductors. They're smart, though. They starved me -_

_**They WHAT?**_

Once again, Steve felt the same artificial rush, and realized that his predictions were correct, he could feel what Claudia was feeling. Right now he could sense her fury, raw and powerful.

_They're trying to subdue me, keeping me too hungry to escape and get help._

Steve could feel Claudia's rage growing, and knew he had to get the rest of the info out before she exploded.

_And Claud - they know I was dead._

At once the rage dropped away and was replaced with fear. And the one thought that remained in Claudia's head -

_**This is my fault.**_

_No. Claud, don't think like that._

_**Yes it is! I wasn't careful enough! I should have...done something, had more security measures when I brought you back. I'm so sorry Jinksy.**_

Claudia's shame overwhelmed Jinks. For a second he was drowning in her guilt, unable to navigate or control the feelings that weren't his. Then, just as suddenly, the guilt stopped. But something was different. It felt like a switch had been shut off in his head.

_Claud? Claudia? Claudia!_

It was as he suspected...Claudia was gone.

He looked around the dingy cell, trying to ignore the stabbing of his stomach pains, and the whispers of a group of people walking past his cell, staring at him as if he were a zoo animal.

_Don't leave me here alone..._


	4. Chapter 4

_Chinagirl18_ - You're right - Steve's captors are extremely cruel. And you'll get the answer to whether he's in a "circus of freaks" or a" science holding dungeon" (love that term, by the way).

_Mari -_ Claudia's going to be trying her hardest to rescue Steve. No one hurts her friend and gets away with it!

_Sabi2_ - Thank you! I should warn you, while nothing past 3.04 is in this fic, there might be some events in this fic that match up to the metronome plot in later eps. of the show. I'm not using it from the show, the same plot points just happen to get have been plotted out in the fic before the eps. came out.

_elphie gray _- I actually don't watch "Revenge", but I love to think that Claudia pops a bowl of popcorn and makes Steve sit on the couch with her so they can watch it.

_tmmdeathwishraven_ - Poor Jinksy is right! I'm glad you're liking this fic!

Cindy Ryan - Thank you! I hope you like this chapter!

_1Shadow-kun_ - Thanks! I'm glad you like this fic!

_ultrablonde_ - I try to update at least once a week, sometimes more. Can't make any promises, though. I hope you like this chapter!

* * *

Steve woke up to a roaring, and people running past his cell. He wondered what was happening - it sounded almost like a wild animal was in pain. Whatever it was, it was scaring the hell out of everybody. As his captors ran past his cell, he could make out snippets of conversation.

"Shit - I thought we drugged it."

"Must have given it the wrong dosage."

Steve made sure to keep his ears open, trying to gather any info that he could tell Claudia. He wondered if he could still communicate with her - both times he had well... "talked" to her, she was the one who had stopped and started the conversation. But maybe he could do the same as well?

_Claudia?_

Nothing happened. For a second he felt ridiculous. Then he closed his eyes and tried again. Like it or not, his communication with Claudia was the only thing that might help him escape.

He tried to picture her: the shocking red hair, slight body, sharp eyes. He pictured the way she smiled and said "Jinksy." He pictured the way he had seen her when he had opened his eyes for the first time after being dead: the remarkable amount of relief, the way she had thrown herself onto him and held on for dear life, crying all the pain away.

_**Steve?**_

_Claud!_

_**Did you ring?**_

_Yeah. Did you hear me?_

_**Yeah, but...it's weird.**_

_Nothing's weirder than this._

_**It was like...I felt you in my head more than I heard you.**_

_No, that makes sense._

And it did. Steve could feel Claudia's presence as well, the hum of her thoughts as well as the pulse of her emotions. But more than that...he could feel something in his head, something telling him Claudia was there, and he wasn't alone.

_**What's going on?**_

_Just wanted to see if I could connect with you. And to tell you that I don't think I'm the only thing being held in this place. I heard something a while ago...it sounded like an animal. I think they were hurting it._

_**Crap. Anyone that tortures animals is no good. Sarah Mclachlan is going to be super pissed about this.**_

_Very funny. But seriously, how are you in locating me?_

_**Not too bad...**_But Steve could feel the weariness in her thoughts.

_Claud...'fess up._

_**I'm trying to find your location, but it's kind of hard to do when your head's next to the toilet. **_

_What?_

_**I'm a little sick. Nothing to worry about, just feeling nauseous. **_

Steve was about to ask how sick she was, when a stabbing stomach pain ripped into his stomach. He winced. He had been having the stomach pains for a few days now, since whoever had him was refusing to feed him.

_Ouch..._

_**Oh Jinksy...are you not feeling good either?**_Claudia sent a wave of sympathy down their link.

_It's nothing...not as bad as what you're going through. Just a little hungry._

Suddenly Steve heard his cell door being opened.

_Claud? Have to go. I think I'm about to get some answers about why I'm here._

_**I'll be waiting to hear from you.**_

Their conversation stopped, and Steve felt Claudia's presence leave his head. He felt strangely alone. He wished Claudia could have stayed, but he couldn't try to figure out why he was being held captive while simultaneously communicating with someone telepathically. It would have been too much.

Steve summoned the energy to raise his head from the cot. There were two people crowded into his small cell, looking at him like he was a wild animal. It was the same fanatic eyed man, accompanied by another assistant with a clipboard.

"Subject's dealt with starvation well."

Yeah, well. He couldn't even get off his cot. Even if the man dangled the keys to his cell right in front of him, he wouldn't be able to get them.

Suddenly it hit Steve. Starvation. That was the reason for Claudia's hunger pains. She couldn't actually starve, because she was eating, but she could feel the pain of Steve being starved.

_Then why is she throwing up, and not me?_ Steve puzzled over the idea for a second, before realizing the answer. Claudia was several inches tinier, and weighed less. Her body would feel the pain even more fiercely.

_Great. Just another way for me to hurt her. _

"We should get the blood tests and whatever else we can out of the way now, while the subject's incapacitated. We'll have to feed him when we need to undergo the psych tests. He'll be no good to us then if he can't even add 2 + 2 because he's too hungry."

They were going to feed him. Steve held onto that little piece of knowledge like a drowning man. They didn't want to kill him, and they wanted to feed him. Anything else could wait for a later time - he was going to get food, and he was going to get it soon.

"Take the subject upstairs for a blood test." Steve was grabbed by his arms and pulled to his feet. He stumbled, and nearly fell to his feet before being grabbed by two men and dragged away.

He was taken to a stark white room, and his first thought was that it looked like a dentist's office. There was a large chair that leaned back up into a bright overhead light, with machines and trays of sharp tools all around the chair. It wasn't exactly comforting.

He was strapped into the chair by his ankles, wrists and waist. For the next hours, he was injected with so many needles he lost count. They took several blood samples, leaving him even more drained than before. They strapped electrodes on his head and measured his heart rate, brain waves and more. By the end of the experiment, Steve felt like a human lab rat.

_**It's just lab human, Jinksy. Unless you're part rat.**_

_Claud! What are you doing -_

_**I'm sorry. It's been hours since I heard from you, and I got nervous.**_

"What's happening?" Steve was vaguely aware that in the background, several men and women were gathering around the machine measuring his brain waves. "What is that?"

_Claud, get off, NOW. They're hooking me up to a machine - they can see my brain waves and -_

_**I'm gone.**_

In seconds, Claudia disappeared from his head. Steve breathed a sigh of relief, but stopped when he caught everyone in the room looking at him.

"I told you, he's the real thing." The fanatic eyed man said. "Did you see those brainwaves? Something happened." He grinned, pleased with the day's work. "Take him back to his cell, and bring him some food. We need him conscious for tomorrow's tests. I changed my mind, we're going to be doing something a little...different than psych tests."

The second the electrodes were off his head, Steve searched for Claudia's presence.

_**You okay?**_

_Yeah, they saw something, but I don't think they know it was you._

_**I'm sorry Jinksy.**_

_Claud, if anyone should be sorry, it's me -_

_**Steve, for the last time, it's not your fault. How 'bout this? I won't keep apologizing if you don't. **_

_Fine. _Steve sighed, trying to ignore, for Claudia's sake, the guilt he felt. Even if he tried to keep up the completely rational argument that it was his fault, Claudia would never let him win.

_**What's going on now?**_

_They're going to feed me. Finally._

Claudia sent a wave of relief down their line, and Steve knew that she was just as worried about him as he was about her.

_**Find out anything more about where you are?**_

Steve was going to reply when he was thrown in his cell, where he saw several sandwiches and water bottles waiting for him. He was about to throw himself at them when Claudia's voice stopped him.

_**Careful Jinksy. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but if you eat that too fast, it'll come up and your stomach will be even emptier. **_

Steve knew she was right. Carefully, he picked up one sandwich and eat it as slowly as possible. Then a second, and a third. Finally, after several sandwiches, Steve finally felt full. He sighed, relishing in the feeling.

_**Feel better?**_

_Much._

_**Good. And hey - my stomach problems are better, too! **_

Steve suddenly felt a rush of guilt, but instantly tried to conceal his thoughts as to why he was feeling that way.

_**Steve, what's going on? **_Claudia said, curiosity mixing with irritation in her voice. _**What don't you want me to see? **_

_It's nothing._

_**Steve, you're being held hostage by a bunch of people that are running tests on you, and you want to keep info from me?**_

_This isn't - You wouldn't - _Steve was losing concentration. It was perfectly easy not to think about something on a normal basis, but when somebody was pushing at him, trying to get him to confess, it was hard to conceal his thoughts. It was like every thought in his head had suddenly turned to his greatest secret -

_**Steve.**_

She knew.

_**You son of a bitch.**_

_Claud, I can explain -_

_**You didn't even tell me! You told Myka, you were thinking about telling the others so they could help you with research, but you didn't even think about when you were going to tell me. **_

_It's not that I don't trust you -_

_**You just thought I'd take the metronome away from you.**_

_Yes!_

_**You really think I'd hold you captive on this earth? You think I'm that selfish.**_

_I didn't think you'd do it for you, I thought you'd do it for me. You know that I'm glad to be alive again. So if you thought I'd stop the metronome because I was worried about you, you'd never give it back to me. _

_**I'm not sure what to say right now.**_

_Claud, please, just try to understand -_

_**NO! **_Claudia's rage flooded him for an instant, mixing with his own guilt._** NO, I don't want to listen, or understand, or say that it's okay. I have a right to be angry, Jinks, dammit! **_

_I was only trying to protect you. _

_**Just like you did by telling me you got fired, tricking me into thinking you were a double agent and then making me find your dead body in an airplane hanger?**_

And suddenly Steve got an image of his own dead body, his eyes open and staring blankly. The image came with sorrow and horror, so overwhelming that it was all he felt for a second.

_**You know what, Steve? You want to be alone so bad, you got it. **_And with that, Claudia's presence left his head.

_Claudia? _He tried to reach out to her, but it felt like there was a wall in the middle of their connection, blocking his attempts to communicate with her.

_Claudia! You're not being fair!_Panic flared up in him - Claudia wouldn't block him out forever, would she? Not with him being held captive somewhere. She wouldn't leave him...

_Claudia! Claudia please! _He tried to force his thoughts through the wall, trying to connect with her once again, but her rage had built the wall, had blocked their connection, and no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break through it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for all the reviews you guys! You're awesome!**

_Sabi2_ - Steve has gotten himself into quite a bit of trouble... You'll see more of it in this chapter.

_Chinagirl18_ - Their reactions are completely the opposite, and it actually made me laugh a bit too. And yeah, the research people are really creepy - but I'm glad, because that's the effect I was going for.

_Cindy Ryan _- None of the others know about Claudia's connection to Steve. You'll read why in this chap.

_elphie gray_ - I'm so glad you thought Claudia's reaction fit with her character. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

_Guest_ - I love Claudia and Jinks in the show as well. So glad that he became such a huge part of the show - he makes such a great partner to Claudia.

_Mari_ - Thank you! I hope you like this chapter!

_Islandwitch_ - I'm sorry I made you cry, but I'm glad you like this fic so much! I'll see what I can do about making the villains pay. ;)

_Swamp Fairy_ - Up until you mentioned it, I realized that I had never shown how Claudia feels about the connection with Jinks (in terms of feeling his emotions, etc.). Luckily, I had already written this chapter, and your questions are answered in it!

_Hero Memory_ - I'm glad you liked how Steve and Claudia react to the situation. You're right - it was a very harsh way for Claudia to find out the truth, but I wanted it to be like that. I love torturing these characters. ;)

* * *

Claudia lay on her bed at the B&B, struggling to keep from crying. She could feel Steve beating desperately at their connection, but she wouldn't let him in. He didn't have the right to go poking through her mind after what he had done to her.

He had lied, put them both in danger, and most of, he had thought she would be cruel enough to keep him hostage.

Hadn't Claudia told him the very first day he was resurrected that he could stop the metronome if wanted to? Sure, she might have tried to talk him out of it, but in the end, she knew it was his decision. As much as she would hate it, as much as it would break her heart, if Steve really felt he needed to leave her, then she would let him. She wouldn't be a sadist - she wouldn't keep the metronome from Steve, holding him on this earth against his will. That would be cruel and horrible, and would cross into MacPherson/Sykes levels of craziness. Steve was her best friend - she would never make him into a slave to the metronome.

Yes, Steve had been partly right. If she had known that he would stop the metronome, not because he was unhappy, but simply for her, then she would have tried to talk him out of it again. And, okay, possibly hid the metronome until they could find a different solution. Because it wasn't fair for him to leave her just because of some stupid desire to protect her. Everything he had done to "protect" her had just ended up hurting her.

She had doubted herself for ages after he had "quit" the Warehouse, she had thought she had let him down. And then, when he was working for Skyes...at first she had refused to believe it, but when she saw him in the forest with Marcus, she had truly thought that he turned on her. In those brief moments, she had wondered why she'd been such a bad partner to make him leave her and join up with the man trying to destroy the Warehouse, trying to kill them all. And then there had been the momentary joy after he had revealed himself to be a double agent, working for the Warehouse. Only to be replaced with horror at seeing his dead body, a body that still haunted her nightmares.

Claudia lay on her bed, trying to block out all thoughts of Steve, of all the crap that was happening was because of his desire to protect her. If he didn't trust her to tell her the truth about one reason he wanted to stop the metronome, would he think she couldn't be trusted with other, better reasons? And why the hell couldn't he just stop worrying about her all the time? Why couldn't he just be happy that they were together and partners and friends and stop trying to protect every single moment?

Angry and hurt, Claudia lay on the bed, trying to control her anger and tears.

"Claudia?" Claudia's head shot up as Myka knocked on her door. She was holding a cup of hot chocolate and staring worriedly at Claudia. Despite that, Claudia felt anger bubble to the surface.

_**You lied to me. After everything that's happened, after all the times you've lectured me about responsibility with artifacts, you didn't tell me the truth. **_

"How are you holding up?" Myka asked, going to Claudia's bedside. She placed the hot chocolate on her nightstand, and then tried to lay a hand on Claudia's back. Claudia flinched and Myka withdrew, looking hurt.

Claudia opened her mouth to yell at Myka, but then stopped. If Myka knew that Steve was being experimented on, then she might tell the Artie, who would tell the Regents, who would stop the metronome for Claudia's sake. Claudia knew that Myka and Artie both cared about Steve tremendously, but if Claudia was in enough pain, they would feel they had to tell the Regents to keep Claudia safe. And even though she was furious with Steve, Claudia definitely didn't want to lose him. She had to keep everything about Steve secret, at least until she could find out where he was being kept.

"Sorry." Claudia sniffed. "I just don't want you to come down with whatever virus I have."

"It's okay." Myka said, smiling gently. "I heard you vomiting. You've got some bad stomach flu."

_**Yeah, it's called feeling the pain of someone who's being starved.**_ But all Claudia said was, "I kind of feel tired..."

"I'll let you sleep." Myka began to back out and Claudia gave her a small smile. The second the door closed Claudia wiped the smile off her face, and sat up in bed. She wasn't ready to reopen her connection to Steve, even though she knew she had to soon. She decided to do some research on her computer, to see if she could find out anything more about the people that took him.

She searched for hours, but found nothing.

* * *

_CLAUDIA!_

Claudia woke up to Steve screaming in her head. Whatever wall she had put up between them had been smashed down, partly due to her lowered defense while sleeping, partly because of Steve's desperation.

_**It hurts so much...**_

Claudia shoved her pillow into her mouth to keep from screaming. She had to keep quiet or the others would come and investigate and they would know. Myka would connect the dots. Claudia had to keep them from finding out.

She reached out for Steve in her mind, finding his presence. For a second, she didn't know the difference between herself and him - they were of one mind, they shared the same body.

_**What are they doing?!**_

_Don't know..._

Steve's consciousness was fading away, she could feel him falling into passing out. The pain, hunger and weakness had taken its toll on Steve's body. Claudia thought that unconsciousness might even be a blessing for him. But as Steve slipped away, Claudia suddenly realized that she could see and hear everything that was happening. His consciousness may have been gone, but his mind was still transmitting information to her.

"Subject's reacting well to pain." Claudia could see blurry images of a man staring down at her. She wasn't sure if Steve's eyes were blurry, or if it was her connection to him. The man then frowned. "Why isn't he healing? He should have healed by now! The documents all said - " He broke off, so angry that he couldn't speak.

Claudia tried to move Steve's eyes to see what was happening, but she couldn't do it. She was an observer in his body, not a controller.

"He's losing a lot of blood." Another man commented, in a scientific air that said he quite frankly didn't give a damn if Steve bled out entirely.

"Fine." The first man sighed in irritation. "Bandage him." The second man put down his clipboard and lifted one of Steve's pale arms. Claudia resisted the urge to vomit. It was cut deeply in several places, blood leaking down the sides...

Claudia pulled out of Steve's head, gasping. Her arms, her torso, her back, they all felt like they were on fire. No wonder Steve had called out for her.

_claudia_

Steve's consciousness returned feebly. He weakly called out for her, hoping that she wouldn't shut off their link, because he didn't have the energy to open it up.

_**I'm here.**_

_stay_

_**I will.**_

_don't leave_

_**I promise. Never again. I promise.**_

* * *

_**We have to do something. **_Claudia was pacing her room, desperately trying to think of solutions. _**Are you sure there isn't anything that you can remember that could help us?**_

_You saw those people's faces, just like me. That's pretty much the extent of my info. And I have no clue where in the hell I am. I couldn't see out the factory windows - they were too grimy. _

Claudia sighed. She and Steve were both trying to hold in their irritation - at the situation, at his captors. They had been analyzing the circumstances for hours.

_It's only going to get worse. _

Claudia sighed. It was a thought that she had been trying to put off, as she didn't want to depress Steve anymore than he already was. But it was true.

_**I'm not going to let them do this. There has to be...**_Claudia broke off in frustration, wanting to punch something. _**What's the good of a fucking psychic link if I can't even help you?**_

_I'm going to keep hurting you._

Claudia felt her heart melt and irritation fade away. Steve was being tortured and experimented on, used as a dammed lab rat, starved and weakened, and all he cared about was how it was going to effect her.

**D**_**on't you dare worry about me. I can hold up. You, on the other hand...**_

_Claud if I die, the metronome will bring me back. If you die...no one will bring you back._

Claudia frowned, feeling something different in Steve's tone of thoughts. It sounded like he was steeling himself for something.

_**What's going on?**_

Steve hesitated, and then Claudia felt even more nervous. Steve was steeling himself to do something, something he had been thinking about during the times their link had been closed...

_**Steve, what's happening?**_

_I'm doing this for you, Claud, okay?_

_**Steve -**_

But with that, Steve stopped their mental link. He didn't just stop the conversation or put up a wall in his mind, he literally snapped their bond in half.

Claudia screamed, falling to the ground, her head in her hands. The pain was worse than anything she had ever felt - Steve had cut something deep inside her. It was like Steve had smashed her funny bone with a sledgehammer, or sliced a nerve in two. The pain was sharp and relentless, overwhelming her.

* * *

Steve lay in his cell, slightly relieved that he was still alive. He couldn't feel his connection with Claudia anymore, and he took that to be a good thing.

If his suspicions were right, then their mental connection had always existed since he had come back from the dead, just an extension of his ability to be connected to Claudia through pain. It had just taken a traumatizing incident such as being captured and turned into a lab rat to make them realize it was there.

Steve was hoping that by breaking their connection, he was also breaking anything that would let Claudia fell his pain.

The pain from his head tried to overwhelm him, but Steve was already in enough pain that he couldn't distinguish one from the other. Every bit of his body hurt, and there wouldn't be any end. There was no way for Claudia to find him now.

But at least he couldn't hurt her anymore


End file.
